Duterte: Metro Manila, 6 other areas stay under GCQ in December

President Duterte says Metro Manila will remain under GCQ this December. Screenshot/PTV

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte has extended anew the implementation of general community quarantine (GCQ) in Metro Manila for the entire month of December.

Apart from Metro Manila, areas also under GCQ until the end of the year are Batangas, Iloilo City, Tacloban City, Lanao del Sur, Iligan, Davao City. The rest of the country will be under modified GCQ.

The President announced the new quarantine classifications in a pre-recorded speech on Monday.

Metro Manila mayors earlier recommended the retention of GCQ in the metropolis to prevent a spike in new COVID-19 cases during the holiday season.

“Pinagpulungan po doon na para maiwasan po natin yung spike o yung tinatawag na wave na susunod, ay atin pong nirekomenda, ng MMC (Metro Manila Council), sa IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases) po natin na manatili po ang GCQ until end of the year,” Parañaque Mayor Edwin Olivarez said in an interview on Teleradyo.

Olivarez heads the MMC.

(We met and discussed that to prevent another spike or wave of COVID-19 infections, we recommended to the IATF to maintain the GCQ status until the end of the year.)

The Philippines closed the month of November with 431,630 COVID-19 cases with 8,392 deaths and 398,658 recoveries. [ac]